Who: OOC!Shishido (Shishi) and OOC!Gakuto (Gaky)
When: Right after Shishi's 'spinny chair' post
Rating: PG (for near-death experiences)
Summery: Gaky finds Shishi by himself and invites him over to hang...and stuff. XD
Shishi hugged his hairdryer closer to his chest. Great. Today just hadn’t been his day. First, he almost got killed by Shishido’s spinny computer chair (not that it was Shishido’s fault that he couldn’t handle such a scary thing by himself or anything!), and now one of his original’s parents was coming up into the room. He didn’t even know they were home! Well, at least they were being loud, or else he might not have heard them and then there would have been a lot of explaining to do.
He pressed himself up closer to the back of the closet he had made his room and prayed that they would go away.
Stumbling at the foot of the stairs, Gaky gave a little cry and fell flat on his face. Grumbling to himself, he picked himself up and headed down the hallway. He stopped at the door Gakuto had told him was Shishido's room and pushed it open.
Once more he tripped over his own feet and went sailing, giving a cry and causing the closet door to open. "Ow..."
Shishi’s eyes widened as the door to his sanctuary was suddenly thrown open. He threw his arms out in front of his face, going with the ‘if you can’t see them, they can’t see you’ approach to the situation.
When no hands reached in to drag him out and demand was he was doing in what had once been Shishido’s closet, he dared himself a peek out into the room.
The last thing that he had been expecting was someone decidedly not either of Shishido’s parents to be pulling himself off the floor.
Groaning, Gaky righted himself up, still on his knees. He blinked, peering into the closet. Was someone hiding in there? Curious, he walked on all fours over to the closet and looked inside. "Hello?"
Shishi backed quickly into the farthest corner when the stranger’s head poked into his ‘room’. He held out his hairdryer defensively, until he noticed the intruder’s face. He remembered this person from the day he had gone to school. “Gakuto?”
Giggle. He got that a lot. "Sorta. I'm his clone, Gaky. Who are you? I remember you from somewhere. And what are you doing in a closet?" Gaky asked curiously. He blinked at the hairdryer, wondering what he was doing with it. It wasn't like it was plugged in or anything.
Hearing the other boy say he was a clone made Shishi a little weary, but the other seemed nice enough, and Yuushi was a clone and he was really nice to him. He decided to answer Gaky’s questions, they seemed innocent enough.
“I’m Shishi, Shishido’s clone. And um…..I live in here.” He said, feeling rather awkward saying he lived in a closet, even if it was very generous of Shishido to let him stay there.
"Ohhhh...." Gaky blinked and then looked around. "It's a very nice closet, Shishi. Can I come in?" He was clumsy but he was polite.
“Um…sure.” Shishi said, “and um…thank you.” He moved his pillow out of the way to make room for Gaky on the bed, which served as the only place to sit in the cramped space.
"Thanks," Gaky smiled, making his way into the closet and grinning at Shishi. "I remember you now. You were at that meeting for Hyoutei."
Shishi remembered that meeting……people actually ASKED him if he wanted balls hit at him. Like he’d say ‘yes’ to that….
“Yeah, I think I remember you too now.” He said, “Hey, what are you doing here anyway? I never got to ask you……you aren’t here to do anything…bad, are you?”
"Oh. No of course not! I just came over to drop off this," Gaky said, pulling out a notebook. "Gakuto said he'd borrowed some homework notes off of Shishido and he wanted me to return them. Though...I don't think Shishido knew Gakuto had borrowed them..."
Shishi let out the small breath he had been holding, “Ah, well, I’ll let Shishdo know where it’s been.” He said, taking the notebook and briefly exiting the closet to place it on Shishido’s bed. He pointedly avoided the computer desk, where the portable phone still rested.
Coming back into his ‘room’, he sat back down near his unexpected guest and turned, “So…um…is there anything you needed to do?”
"Not really," Gaky said, resting his chin on his hand and looking at Shishi. He grinned, watching the other boy. He was kinda cute in a scared, terrified sort of way.
“Oh, well you could stay here for a while if you want, not that I’m much company or anything……” Shishi trailed off, he would have liked some company, but Gaky probably had much better things to do.
He turned and then blinked at the other clone, confused, “Why are you staring at me?” he asked innocently, if not with a tinge of nervousness, finally noticing how the other’s eyes had been trailing him.
"Really? I could stay?" Gaky grinned, all but bouncing in excitement. Yay! Someone actually wanted him around! Gakuto always said he did but he wouldn't even let him play with the talking cat. Pout.
"Uhm...cuz you're cute?" Gaky was nothing if not honest. Even when he shouldn't be.
Shishi tried to hide his surprise at Gaky’s response. Someone was excited to spend time with him?! Only Shishido and Yuushi even seemed to acknowledge his presence most of the time. He found himself smiling, despite himself, as well as blushing at Gaky’s last comment. Since when did boys find other boys ‘cute’? Oh well, at least he didn’t want to eat him or something. “Thank you.” He said, still blushing.
"You're welcome." Gaky ran a hand through his hair, grinning. Boys found other boys cute, after all that had to be the reason why Gakuto gushed over Oshitari all the time. The clone of Oshitari wasn't bad, though the original one scared him. He seemed to think that Gaky was playing hard to get or something.
“So…um…..” The blush of Shishi’s face, instead of lessening, got worse. He had never had a guest before, not without Shishido around as well. He had not idea what to talk about! “Eh…..the weather seems nice outside, doesn’t it?” he asked.
He mentally slapped himself, ‘Good one, Shishi. Oh, you can’t do anything right!’
"Eh. It's kinda hot outside," Gaky blinked and then grinned. "Wanna go swimming with me?" It was too nice to stay inside all day! It was a great idea, really. The other boy seemed to be really shy, and he just needed to get out more!
Shishi’s eyes widened. Leave? Without Shishido saying it was ok?! He’d never been outside the house, not since Shishido first came to get him from the Hyoutei locker rooms!
“I-I don’t know. I mean, thank you for the offer, but I don’t even think I could swim. What if I can’t?! Want if I drown or something?!”
"It's not hard, I could teach you if you want," Gaky suggested, blinking innocently. He left Gakuto's house all the time, so didn't see why it would be a problem now. Though, granted, Gakuto wasn't always happy with where he went. "And I wouldn't let you drown!"
Shishi still felt nervous about leaving. What if Shishido got mad at him? Still, Gaky seemed really nice, and he really was rather bored by himself, especially since going on livejournal as often wasn’t much of an option anymore. Still….
“Um….I’m not sure…” he mumbled, looking over his shoulder hoping Shishido would come in and tell him what to do.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Gaky said hurriedly, flushing slightly. The last thing he wanted was to make Shishi nervous and upset. "If you want to go, we can always leave a note telling Shishido were you went..."
Shishi hoped he hadn’t upset Gaky, “No! No! I want to go, I really do, but…um….I don’t want to be any trouble or anything. And I probably wouldn’t be the best person to go with…….” He trailed off, “Do you think Shishido would be ok with a note…he wouldn’t be mad at us, would he?”
Of course Gaky wasn't upset. He was just worried that he'd done the same to the other boy. "I'm sure there wouldn't be any trouble, and if there is I'll just say it was my idea! And Gakuto always says if I leave a note it's okay." Of course, he rarely did because he was just to scatterbrained to remember to write one.
Shishi thought this information over. Well, Gakuto was one of Shishido’s teammates….so if he said it was ok….
“Ok, I guess Shishido won’t mind if I go out for a little while, as long as we leave a note.” He said. He hoped he was doing the right thing, but people had been telling him to make his own decisions, right? What could go wrong if he went out for a little while? Gaky was really nice, maybe he could be friends with him.
"Yay!" Gaky bounced to his feet then fell back down, having hit the shelf above. "Ow...hehehehe..." Gakuto always said he was too hyper for his own good. But he had someone to talk to now! Well...someone besides the cute talking kitty.
Shishi cringed as Gaky hit his head. “Are you ok?” he asked, “I’m sorry if it’s a little….cramped in here.”
"Hai, I'm okay," Gaky smiled ruefully, rubbing his head. "Let's write that note and get going, okay?"
Shishi nodded in agreement, feeling almost giddy at the fact that he was doing such a ‘daring’ thing. He looked around, grabbing a pencil off of Shishido bureau and writing a quick note explaining where he was and who he was with to Shishido in the notebook Gaky had returned. “Okay, ready.”
"Let's go!" Gaky grinned, taking a hold of Shishi's hand and leading out of the room. This was going to be so much fun, he couldn't wait!
It was rather startling, having Gaky grab hold of his hand like that, but Shishi allowed himself to be led out the room and towards the stairs. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t even know where this pool Gaky talked of was. Well, his…friend knew the way, so he’d just have to trust him.
Bouncing along, Gaky made sure to walk slower when they got to the stairs. He was used to falling all the time but he didn't want to hurt Shishi with his clumsiness. Once out of the house, he tapped his chin and thought. Maybe they should just go back to Gakuto's house. He had a nice big pool there and if he was going to teach Shishi how to swim, it would be private. "Okay, let's go!"
Shishi still had not idea where he was being led, but Gaky seemed rather confident in their destination, so he just allowed himself to be gently pulled along. It was probably a good thing that he was being led, as he could hardly keep his eyes looking ahead of him. He had only been outside twice in his whole life, and his head moved from side to side, trying to take in all the sights that he hadn’t been able to see the night Shishido had brought him home. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what they were, but still, it was rather overwhelming to be physically out among all the different sights.
Gaky giggled at the way Shishi seemed to look at everything with wide eyes. Did he not get out at all? Strange. Even he managed to get out every so often. Shaking his head, he led Shishi up the steps to Gakuto's house. "This is Gakuto's house. We can change here. He has a nice big pool in the backyard. I thought maybe you'd like some privacy first if you don't know how to swim."
So this was where Gaky lived? Shishi stared at the house, impressed. “Thank you.” He said, appreciating the other’s concern for his inexperience. But wait, what had he said about….?
Shishi found himself regretting his rash decision. “Um….I don’t have anything to change in.” he said, realizing his mistake too late.
"Oh that's okay. You can use one of mine," Gaky said, solving the problem without even knowing it. Turning into the yard, he opened the door to the house and ushered Shishi inside. "Up the stairs, first door on the right is my room."
Shishi felt rather awkward just going into Gakuto’s home, even though Gaky had given him permission. Still, he followed Gaky’s instructions, finding the other’s room without difficulty. What was he supposed to do now? Gaky had said he could borrow something to wear but…..where did he look? It was rude to just dig around other people’s stuff. Was Gaky coming up, or was Shishi making him wait? He didn’t want his new friend to be mad at him!
"Ack, sorry! I had to go feed the cat," Gaky grinned at Shishi from the doorway. He stepped inside and opened one of the drawers of his bureau and rummaged around until he found a couple pairs of swimming trunks. "Ah ha! Here we go!"
Shishi caught the trunks thrown at him, glad that he had made the right choice in not touching anything. “Um…where should I change?” he asked, looking around.
"You can change here," Gaky said, pulling off his shirt and throwing it in one of the chairs in the room.
Shishi stared blankly, jaw unhinged as Gaky proceeded to…..strip in front of him. And he expected him to take off his cloths too?! What was going on?! He felt his face getting hotter and hotter, and finally shoved it into the swimming trunks Gaky had left him. What on earth had he gotten himself into?
Glancing over his shoulder, Gaky blinked. "Are you all right, Shishi?"
Shishi didn’t dare look out from behind the swimming trunks, although he did manage a fairly intelligible ‘Mummmhumm.’ Through the fabric.
"Oh...OH!" Gaky flushed and grabbed his swim trunks. "Uhm...you can change here I'll go to the bathroom and finish changing."
He waited until he heard Gaky stumble out of the room and down the hall before uncovering his face. Shishi’s was still glowing beet red. He must have done something wrong. He’d drive Gaky away at this rate! Sighing to himself, he quickly slipped into the swim trunks, and waited for his fellow clone to return.
Gaky shook his head at himself after entering the bathroom. What an idiot he'd been! Gah! He didn't even think that the other might want some privacy in changing. Gakuto never bothered so he thought it was normal. Sighing heavily, he changed and headed back to his room, knocking. "All done, Shishi?"
Shishi’s head shot up at the knock, “Yeah, I’m done!” he answered, rushing for the door at the same time to open it. It would be rude to keep his host out of his own room.
"Okay," Gaky opened the door and smiled at his new friend. "Yay! You look great! Ready?"
Shishi blushed a little at the comment, especially since he wasn’t wearing that much to ‘look great’ in. “Thanks, and yeah, I’m ready!”
“…I hope.”
Grinning, Gaky reached out and took Shishi's hand, leading him out of his bedroom. "Come on. We'll get some towels and then head down to the pool."
Shishi looked at the rippling water with just a little bit of trepidation. He had come this far, but now he was really regretting his choice to go swimming. The water looked so deep, he wasn’t sure it he could pull it off, this swimming thing.
"Come on! Let's go to the other end of the pool first. It's not deep," Gaky grinned at his new friend, taking his hand and leading him to the shallow end of the pool. He sat down on the edge and slipped into the water. It only came up to about his waist, not at all very deep. "Come on in! We can get you used to the feel of it first."
Well, this was it. Shishi took a deep breath and slowly inched himself into the water. He gasped a bit at how cold it was, but he found himself quickly getting used to it. It was a really hot day, so the water actually felt, well, nice.
He smiled over towards Gaky, splashing the water lightly, “This isn’t so bad after all.”
"See? It's fun!" Gaky grinned, reclining back in the water, waving his arms in it to keep himself upright. "Let me know when you think you're used to it and I'll show you a few things on how to stay afloat."
Shishi smiled, this was fun! A small laugh escaped his lips as he spun about in the water. Seeing how much fun Gaky seemed to be having floating, his curiosity overrode what was left of his initial fear of the water and he moved closer towards the other clone. “Can I try too?”
"Of course you can!" Gaky grinned, sitting up and moving over to the other clone. "The water should hold you up a bit on its own, but just let yourself float. It's pretty easy!"
Shishi leaned backwards, trying to imitate what he had seen Gaky do. He felt a little embarrassed, since he really didn’t have a clue as to whether or not he was doing it right. The feeling of his feet breaking contact with the bottom of the pool caused him to panic slightly, as he felt the lower half of his body float upwards.
"It's okay, you're doing great!" Gaky grinned, placing a hand on Shishi's to steady him. "Just let yourself float a bit and get used to the sensation."
Gaky’s hand on his was very reassuring, and Shishi calmed down again, concentrating fully on keeping his body afloat.
"See? It's not hard," Gaky blinked, staring at his hand as it rested on Shishi's. He flushed slightly before taking his hand away. "Just float for awhile so you can get used to it."
Shishi found himself on his own in the water again. It felt….nice, being able to do something like this on his own. Shishido would be proud of him! He hoped.
He continued to float along the surface of the pool. Now that he was starting to get used to it, this was actually pretty calming.
"See? Easy!" Gaky grinned, and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. He placed his hand on the other's shoulder to stop him with a grin. "Now comes the fun part."
“Fun part?” Shishi asked, weary again. He was perfectly fine with floating, what was Gaky going to show him now?
"Hehehe...yep!" Gaky swam over to two of the water boards and dragged them over. He pushed one over to Shishi with a grin. "It's fun! You lay on the board like this," he showed the other boy how, "and it helps you float. Then all you do is use your legs to start kicking. Then you can dunk yourself into the water to get used to it. You probably won't be able to dive and stuff for awhile until you get used to it, but its fun!"
The board looked rather unstable. Shishi eyed it suspiciously, worrying over whether or not it would actually help him swim, or even keep him from sinking for that matter. Well, Gaky’s was holding him, so he supposed it was ok. He cautiously laid himself down on the water board, letting out a tiny yelp as it suck a few inches below the water, adjusting to his weight. However, he still remained above the surface, so there was no need to panic yet.
That could wait til they got to this ‘dunking’ and ‘diving’ Gaky spoke of….
"See? Easy!" Gaky grinned, bouncing a bit in the water. He snickered a little bit and pushed back his now wet hair. Maybe they wouldn't do much more this time around. He didn't want to scare the other boy after all.
Shishi nodded. Ever so slowly, he started to kick his feet, propelling himself forward on the board. His face took on a look of intense concentration as he worked to keep himself balanced. He didn’t see what was so ‘easy’ about this, but he thought he was getting the hang of it. Of course, Gaky’s snicker made him wonder if he was doing something wrong. He hoped he didn’t look stupid.
Watching Shishi with a smile, Gaky let himself float in the water. He was doing really good for his first time! Maybe they could just wait for the dunking and stuff for later. For now they'd just have fun!
Shishi continued to paddle happily, believing he was finally used to swimming with the water board. He quickly reverted back to his former paranoid way of thinking however when he leaned just a little too far to the left and the board promptly flipped him into the water. He sputtered, alarmed at having gotten water in his nose and eyes. More alarming was that he was now up to his neck in water and his feet could still now find the bottom of the pool. “Gaky!”
"Hmm? Shishi!" Gaky turned, only to discover that Shishi had paddled all the way to the very deep end of the pool and he was sinking fast. Damnit! He pushed aside the water board he'd been lounging against and dove into the water, coming up and swimming as fast as he could over to his new friend. "Hold on I'm coming!"
Gaky’s form swimming franticly towards him was the last thing Shishi’s wide eyes saw before slipping below the surface. He gasped, water flooding into his mouth. This was it, he knew it! He should have just stayed in his closet room and he wouldn’t be dead right now!
….or soon to be.
"Shishi!" Gaky saw him go under and he took a deep breath before diving under himself. He swam briskly, heading towards his rapidly descending friend. He grabbed a hold of Shishi by the arm, dragging him up to the surface before pulling him up onto the deck of the pool.
Somewhere in the back of his mind Shishi was aware of his body moving out of the water and being laid out flat on the ground. His mind was still fuzzy though, and he didn’t know exactly what was happening.
Oh God...Gaky pulled the other boy up and laid him down so he was lying out. He couldn't see his chest move and did that mean he couldn't breathe? Oh no! He'd killed his new friend! Remembering what his swim instructor had said, he tilted Shishi's head back and proceeded to give him mouth to mouth, hoping to revive his friend.
Shishi managed to find air again, gasping and sucking in the oxygen like it had been years, not minutes since he’d first been deprived of it. He heart beat loudly in his chest. He’d been so scared. After all, he’d almost DIED.
He let out a small sob at this though, grabbing on to the first thing nearby. Looking up, he saw he was currently attached to Gaky’s arm. And….his friend’s mouth was surprisingly close to his own…what was going on?
Unaware that Shishi was okay, Gaky bent down and pressed his lips against Shishi's. It only took him a moment to realize that there was breath coming from his friend's lips before he turned bright red and pulled back.
Gaky’s face wasn’t the only one going red. Shishi found himself turning a very bright shade of scarlet when the two boys’ lips touched. “Wha…?” he asked, looking up at his friend, wide-eyed and confused.
"Eeep...I'm sorry! I thought you know...weren't breathing..." Gaky flushed, scooting back to a safe distance. That had been weird...very weird.
Still rather embarrassed and confused, Shishi could only stare as Gaky moved away from him. His mind only half-registered what his friend had said, so his initial thoughts were that he had done something wrong, which cause his friend to back away so suddenly. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t- I-“ he shot the other a panicked look.
"Huh? Oh!" Gaky blinked and then moved over to take Shishi's hand. A soft smile spread across his features as he realized the other boy hadn't moved away. "You didn't do anything wrong, Shishi! I didn't realize you were awake and was trying to give you cpr but you obviously didn't need it..."
Shishi calmed down as his brain registered Gaky’s explanation. But a cold feeling overcame him when he realized just how close he had come to death. Bringing his knees up to his chest, he hugged himself tightly, shivering a little.
"Shh... it's okay, Shishi. You're safe now," Gaky said, instantly going to his friend's side and wrapping his arms around him. He held him close, brushing a soft kiss to his hair. "You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."
At first, Shishi thought it was Shishido who was holding him so protectively, as no one else but his double had ever shown him such honest concern. He leaned into the person holding him, suddenly feeling quite tired from his whole ordeal.
Somewhere along the line he realized that it was in fact Gaky who was hugging him tightly, and Shishi smiled despite himself, glad he had such a good friend, “Thank you, for saving my life.”
"No thanks are needed. I know you would have done the same for me. We're friends after all," Gaky smiled, tilting his head slightly. He placed a kiss on Shishi's forehead, rubbing his arms gently.
The cold he had just been feeling gave way to a warm heat that started where Gaky’s lips had touched his forehead and spread. It was all Shishi could do to not stare as a blush moved across his face.
“You’re my…friend.” He smiled. It felt nice to have such a friend, who didn’t mind that he was scared of things, and would take him out, and teach him how to swim, and then save his life when he messed things up.
"Hai!" Gaky grinned, hugging his new friend tightly. He hummed to himself, nuzzling his friend affectionately. He was so soft and it was good to know that he was all right. Gaky didn't even seem to be aware of the blush.
Shishi was aware enough of things again to be started by Gaky’s hugging this time around. It was an odd mix. Gaky had Shishido’s kindness and concern, but the other clone also possessed Yuushi’s enthusiasm and penchant for…..hugging. Gaky wondered how he attracted such people, not that being hugged was a bad thing.
"So, feeling better?" Gaky asked, moving back a bit to look his friend over carefully. He seemed all right, but one could never be too sure about these things. It was always best to ask first, and not assume anything.
Shishi nodded, “Yeah. Just….I almost died…and….wow….” he swayed a bit, but kept himself upright.
"Yeah, puts a new perspective on things. I've done that three or four times," Gaky admitted with a nod of his head.
Shishi’s eyes widened, “Four times?!” He had a new respect for his friend, to keep going back even after such bad things had happened. Kinda like Shishido with that scary serve. Gaky was crazy, just like his original! Still, Shishi felt rather…ashamed, he couldn’t be brave like that, he was sure.
"Eh. Kinda hard not to when your original keeps throwing you into the deep end," Gaky flushed and shrugged. He leaned his chin on Shishi's shoulder, still holding him. "I'm glad you're okay though. I don't know what I would have done if you got hurt because of me."
“It wouldn’t have been your fault if I was stupid enough to drown.” Shishi said, trying to make his new friend feel better, “I’m just not good at anything.”
“But I’m glad I’m ok too.” He gave a small laugh, “And I’m…glad you’re glad.”
"You are too good at it. You just went too far in, that's all. Doesn't mean you're not good at swimming," Gaky shook his head before hugging the other boy again. "I bet you're good at lots of stuff. You just haven't found them yet!"
It felt reassuring to hear that. Shishi smiled, here he was trying to cheer Gaky up and the exact opposite was happening. “I am?” he asked, delighted someone had told him he was good at something.
"Yeah! You were great! I mean, you're a natural!" Gaky grinned, running a hand through his red hair. "I don't know many people that learn as quickly as you do!"
“Really?” Shishi asked, smiling. He had found swimming fun, right before the whole almost drowning part, “Do you think I…could do it again sometime?” he asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.
"Of course you can! I'd love to have you over more often," Gaky beamed happily, glad that this experience hadn't upset him enough to stay away.
Shishi never would have stayed away, perhaps from the deep end of the pool, but that was about it. He had been scared that Gaky wouldn’t want him to come back, thinking Shishi too much of a liability or a bother. He was ecstatic that Gaky wouldn’t mind seeing him again.
Grinning, Gaky held his hand out to Shishi. "Let's go dry off and have lunch, how's that?"
Shishi took it, allowing himself to be pulled onto somewhat shaky feet, “Ok, that sounds nice.”
"Great!" Gaky bounced slightly, then laced his fingers with Shishi's and lead him back into the house and towards the kitchen. Lunch...hmm...what to have for lunch...
At first he stumbled as he was pulled along, but Shishi quickly matched Gaky’s pace as the two of them once again entered the house. He shivered slightly at the blast of air-conditioned coldness on his still-damp body as they passed through the door, but brushed it off as he walked into the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, Gaky headed for the refrigerator. He opened the door and stuck his head inside, looking intently. With his tongue sticking out of his mouth, he rummaged around, pulling out condiments, bread, meat, cheese, and other items and placing them on the nearby counter.
Off to the side, Shishi watched as Gaky removed each of the items from the fridge, feeling rather useless. “Um…is there anything I can do to help?” he asked hopefully. He wasn’t sure if the other heard him, he seemed rather intent on what he was doing.
"Huh? Oh sure! The cupboard behind you has some plates if you want to get some," Gaky said, emerging out of the refrigerator with a carton of milk and orange juice.
“Oh, this one?” Shishi reached behind him finding the plates just where Gaky had told them they’d be. Taking two, he carefully walked them over to the gathering pile of food Gaky was making on the counter.
"Yep!" Gaky grinned at Shishi, spreading out the bread slices onto the plates. "What would you like?" After all, it was only polite to offer your guest first dibs after all.
Shishi stared at all the things lined up on the counter. He wasn’t really sure where to start, but felt it rude to keep his host waiting. “Um…” Quickly making himself a simple ham and cheese sandwich, he backed away to sit down and allow Gaky to get what he wanted.
Choosing turkey, Gaky made his own sandwich and followed Shishi to the table. He sat down, holding out the milk and orange juice for his friend.
Shishi took the offered orange juice, smiling in thanks. Eating his sandwich happily, he came to realize just how famished he was. It really had been some time since he had had anything to eat.
Taking the milk, Gaky poured himself a glass and sipped it before starting in on his lunch. It was his favorite meal of the day! Then again, so was breakfast...and dinner...and supper...and snacks...
The two clones continued to eat their lunch hungrily. Shishi, who hadn’t taken as much food, finished first. Finishing off his glass of orange juice, he looked over at Gaky opening and closing his mouth. He wondered if the other would mind him asking a question in the middle of eating. “Um…I’m done. Would you like me to clean up…or something..?”
"If you'd like. You don't have to, though." Gaky licked his fingers for the turkey juice, purring. This was so much better then living on the roof of Hyoutei! He liked his double and his family. It still amazed him that they'd taken him in so readily and without hesitation.
“Ok.” Shishi got up and started trying to figure out where everything went back in the fridge. He was rather amazed that Gakuto’s family let Gaky live with them, and just go about the house so freely like this. They were only kids, after all, and here Gaky was taking care of himself, and Shishi too, for that matter.
Finishing up his lunch, Gaky gathered the plates and set them in the sink, washing them off before placing them in the dishwasher. He turned to watch Shishi with and excited grin. It was like having a best friend!
Shishi was thinking the same thing. Being around Shishido, Yuushi…sometimes…., and now Gaky calmed him down a great deal. He felt almost like he was normal, just another kid enjoying himself with his friends.
Once the dishes were done, Gaky went to help Shishi clean up the rest of the food items. In no time they were done, and the kitchen was in perfect condition. "Well! That was fun...sort of. So uhm...what did you want to do now?"
Shishi looked down at himself, realizing for the first time that they were both still in nothing but their swim trunks. No wonder he was so cold.
Shivering slightly, he answered, “Maybe we could dry off and get dressed? Unless you want to go back in the pool.” He added quickly, not wanting to seem greedy or demanding.
"Nope, that sounds fine! Let's go up to my room," Gaky grinned, taking a hold of Shishi's hand and leading him out of the kitchen and up the stairs back to his room.
He was certainly being lead around a lot today, not that Shishi minded such things. He hoped they weren’t being too noisy, running up the stairs like they were. Forget the fact that no one was home anyway.
Bouncing into his room, Gaky bounced onto the bed with a laugh. He loved bouncing on the bed, though he didn't get to do it often. Gakuto didn't like it much, thinking it was childish or something.
Shishi stayed off to the side, eyeing Gaky nervously. Bouncing on the bed was dangerous! What if he fell off?! And hit his head and got brain damage or something?! And Shishi didn’t even know where the phone was if he needed to call for an ambulance. “Gaky, be careful!”
Giggling, Gaky looked over at his friend, still bouncing on the bed. He jumped up and down on the bed as if it were a trampoline, his hand extended to Shishi. "Wanna join me? It's a lot of fun and its not dangerous!" Okay, maybe just a tad, but there wasn't really anything that would hurt him in there. Maybe the floor if he hit his head but he hadn't yet!
There was no way something like that couldn’t be dangerous. And the more people on the bed, the more likely someone would fall! This strange rhyme popped into Shishi’s head all of a sudden. Something along the lines of ‘Four little monkeys jumping on the bed…..’
And he’d be the one to slip if someone did get hurt! He knew it. He was a klutz, he had to be! But…didn’t Shishido come home a lot with all these scrapes from where he fell on the court? He must fall a lot. Did that mean that Shishi wouldn’t? Since he was Shishido’s opposite? He was so confused, and he still hadn’t answered Gaky’s question.
Blinking at his friend, Gaky jumped over to the edge of the bed, his head tilted to the side as he kept up the bouncing. "See? It's fun, Shishi! You won't fall off. I'll hold your hands so you don't, okay?"
If they held hands then Shishi would just drag Gaky down with him! But he didn’t want to disappoint Gaky, “Ok, I’ll come up, but let go of me if I fall or anything.”
Gaky giggled, shaking his head. "You won't fall, I promise!"
Still weary, Shishi crawled cautiously up onto the bed, taking his time in actually standing up on the cushy surface. He swayed slightly and made to plop himself back down again, but gathered up his courage and remained upright.
"See? It's easy!" Gaky grinned, reaching out his hands to take Shishi's. Once he did he showed the other how to bounce on the bed so they wouldn't fall off. "See? It's fun!"
Shishi still wasn’t sure if he wanted to call it ‘fun’, but he wasn’t dead or in a coma yet, so this whole bouncing thing must not be as bad as he had feared. Careful not to go too high, he jumped up and down as Gaky was showing him to.
Once Shishi seemed to have gotten the hang of it, Gaky sped up their jumps. This was a lot of fun! And Gakuto had said it would help him get over his fear of heights.
Well, Shishi didn’t care to ‘get over’ his fear of heights. He was perfectly happy keeping it, if it meant he didn’t have to do such scary things too often. Taking notice of the subtle change in speed, he gave Gaky a wide-eyed stare, wondering what was going on.
"It's okay! See?" Gaky grinned, bouncing up into the air a bit. He giggled as they went up a little higher. He reached out and snagged the remote for the stereo and turned it on, letting the music fill the room. Giggling, he jumped up and down to the music happily.
He almost drowned, and now he was going to die when there was no water in sight. Shishi almost wished for a pool now, to break his inevitable fall.
Centimeter by centimeter, both his and Gaky’s heads came closer and closer to the ceiling, as they went higher with each jump. Shishi found a pattern developing within himself. He sucked in his breath each time they rose, and let it back out in a ‘whoosh’ as they descended. A constant pattern.
He didn’t realize when he had started getting used to it.
Panting, Gaky grinned, holding onto Shishi's arms. He giggled, then let his knees drop beneath him, falling onto the bed onto his back, pulling Shishi with him. They landed safely on the bed, Gaky still giggling helplessly.
Even though it had been an injury-free landing, Shishi had still been unprepared for the sudden drop as Gaky pulled him down to the bed. His head somewhat dizzy from the fall, he closed his eyes and put his face to his hands, allowing his body to just rest as it got used to once again being on a solid, unmoving surface.
Reaching out, Gaky ran his fingers through Shishi's still wet hair, a grin still plastered on his face. "See? That wasn't so bad was it?" He smiled at the other boy, gazing at him gently. He was still a bit flushed from the jumping, his eyes bright.
Feeling much better, and fairly confident that the fall hadn’t caused any irreversible chemical imbalance to his brain as he initially feared, Shishi opened his eyes and slowly nodded his head in response to Gaky’s question. “No, it was…fun.”
"It was!" Gaky giggled. He reached out and brushed some of Shishi's still wet hair from his face. "You okay now?"
Shishi let out a soft sigh, feeling Gaky’s fingers combing genteelly through his hair, which he had been allowing to get longer. “Yeah….” He trailed off, feeling suddenly quite tired from the day’s events.
Yawning, Gaky snuggled up close to Shishi and closed his eyes. "We should take a nap. I'm tired..." he yawned again before pulling the covers over them and snuggling into the soft warmth.
A flush moved across Shishi's face, but he was so exhausted, and the bed was so warm, he chose not to protest their close proximity for the moment. All he could really bring himself to think was that he hoped was that his hair wasn't going to make Gaky's bed all wet. It still wasn't quite dry yet.
Giving one final yawn before falling asleep, Gaky snuggled closer to the other boy, feeling content and happy. He finally had a friend who he really, really liked. And said friend even liked him back.
Drifting off to sleep himself, Shishi was only distantly aware of how Gaky was snuggling next to him. His arm reached out on it’s own accord to wrap around the other boy before he fell asleep completely.